Hat-tip to Alan Lange for this story from Columbus’s Commercial-Dispatch:
House OKs harsher penalty for judge bribes
JACKSON – The Mississippi House on Tuesday adopted a proposal by Rep. Gary Chism of Columbus to impose stiffer penalties for bribing judges.
The House of Representatives took up the bill to make bribing a judge a violation of the state’s obstruction-of-justice law.
Chism got the House to adopt an amendment increasing the bill’s original penalty. It goes up to five-to-20 years in prison and a fine of at least $25,000 or three times the amount of the bribe.
The bill had said the punishment should be not more than five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. …
"I think somebody who bribes a judge,” Republican Chism allows, “should get something more severe than that, " while House Judiciary "A " Committee Chairman Ed Blackmon, D-Canton, noting that the bill was inspired by Mississippi’s current judicial scandals, puts in, "This certainly sends the message: if you want to bribe a judge, you’re in big trouble if you get caught. "
With the measure headed to Senate consideration, any predictions on how it fares there (or when either house might get serious about fining Sunshine-law-breakers more than $100 a pop)?
I think the fine should be 3 times the amount of the bribe OR 3 times the amount of money seeking to be saved by making the bribe, whichever is larger. And IF the bribe involves a member of the MS Bar (atty, Judge, or both), permanent disbarment and removal from the bench.
Its a step in the right direction, but still not enough IMO.
Ooo yeah, I like your ideas waaaay better, afotl. Those would get good attention pronto.
Even better, if there are multiple offenses, then double the fines and jail times, and add an hour of waterboarding.
what about penalizing the judge? why isn’t there any provision in the bill for that?
Senate will pass
It will pass, but will it ever be acted upon?